Leslie Palmer, wife of Seventh Metro Baptist Church pastor Ryan Palmer, prays for community members June 7 outside the church building in Baltimore as part of the Southern Baptist Convention outreach initiative Crossover Baltimore. The church, where legendary SBC missionary Annie Armstrong was baptized, relaunched on Sunday, June 8, after the evangelistic events on Saturday. By Adam Miller, Tobin Perry and Joe Conway, Baptist Press BALTIMORE, Md. (BP) -- Dante Carter wanted Crossover Baltimore to communicate compassion to the hurting people he often encounters in the city. "There's a lot of hurt and pain...," Carter, youth pastor at Northeast Baptist Church (NBC) in the heart of the Armistead Gardens community, said. "We want to give people an opportunity to hear the Gospel preached and to experience the love of Christ through the people of our church." Northeast Baptist was one of 36 Baltimore-area Baptist churches that joined arms with nearly 2,000 volunteers from 18 states and Canada to serve the Baltimore community and share Christ with its residents during Crossover. The event preceded the beginning of the 2014 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting taking place June 10-11 in the city. Joined by volunteers from … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Fri, 06/13/2014 - 11:58 David Platt, senior pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Ala., speaks during the first session of the 2014 Southern Baptist Pastors' Conference June 8-9 at the Baltimore Convention Center. The theme of the conference is "Show us Your glory." BALTIMORE (BP) -- Pastors, churches and the convention must catch a glimpse of God's glory to fuel their mission, speakers said at the 2014 Southern Baptist Pastors' Conference in its first two sessions June 8-9. The annual conference preceding the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting was held this year at the Baltimore Convention Center focusing on the theme "Show Us Your Glory" from Moses' prayer in Exodus 33. The 2014 Southern Baptist Convention Pastors' Conference, themed "Show Us Your Glory," concluded much as it began with speakers calling attendees to live passionately for Christ and to lead others to make disciples. RONNIE FLOYD Southern Baptists must be known for the power and glory of God in their midst in order to fulfill their mission, Arkansas pastor Ronnie Floyd said in the Southern Baptist Pastors' Conference opening session Sunday night. Floyd, senior pastor of Cross Church in northwest Arkansas … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Fri, 06/13/2014 - 12:02 During the June 11 Ethics & Religious Liberty Committee presentation, ERLC president Russell D. Moore presents an award to the wife of Saeed Abedini, an American pastor who is imprisoned for his Christian faith in Iran. Abedini received the Richard Land Award for Distinguished Service for "faithfully serving the Lord Jesus Christ ... despite the risk that was involved." His wife Naghmeh received the award on his behalf and received a standing ovation from messengers. Newly elected SBC president Ronnie Floyd then led messengers in a prayer for the imprisoned pastor. By Tom Strode, Baptist Press BALTIMORE (BP) -- Members of two families who are standing heroically for the Christian faith received awards from the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and grateful affirmation from messengers to the 2014 Southern Baptist Convention. The ERLC honored the Greens, who own Hobby Lobby, and Saeed Abedini, a prisoner in Iran, Wednesday morning (June 11) during the SBC's annual meeting. ERLC President Russell D. Moore presented the John Leland Religious Liberty Award to Steve and Jackie Green for their family's refusal to abide by the Obama administration's … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Fri, 06/13/2014 - 12:04 Southern Baptist Convention messengers adopted nine resolutions during the two-day SBC annual meeting at the Baltimore Convention Center and elected Ronnie Floyd as their new president. By Shawn Hendricks, Baptist Press BALTIMORE (BP) -- An update to the SBC constitution regarding qualifications for churches to send messengers to the annual meeting was adopted during the Executive Committee's report to the convention June 11 in Baltimore. Describing the recommendation as "small church friendly," EC chairman Ernest Easley said the proposal to revise Article III is a response to a motion from last year's annual meeting in Houston that requested updating messenger qualifications. It was the 16th motion in the past 35 years to call for a reevaluation of Article III. Messengers adopted the recommendation without debate or questions from the floor. In order to officially revise Article III, the recommendation will need to be approved by messengers a second time during the 2015 annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio. "The Executive Committee floated the recommendation out across the convention the last several months in order to build consensus which has really proved beneficial in … [Read more...]

BALTIMORE (BP) – Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention adopted a resolution on transgender identity for the first time while returning to such issues as civil rights, gambling and world hunger for further statements. All nine resolutions offered Tuesday (June 10) at the SBC’s 2014 meeting gained approval by unanimous or overwhelming votes. The messengers’ actions in about 30 minutes meant a second report scheduled for Wednesday morning (June 11) was not needed. Twelve resolutions were submitted to the committee. Messengers defeated efforts to bring two of those resolutions to the floor for consideration. The resolution on transgender identity came in response to recent gains in state legislatures, the federal executive branch, public schools and the wider culture by advocates for recognizing a distinction between gender and biology. In the resolution, messengers affirmed that “gender identity is determined by biological sex and not by one’s self-perception.” It expressed love for transgender people and invited them to trust in Jesus. Texas pastor David Dykes, chairman of the Resolutions Committee, said at a news conference after the vote, “To this point we had not spoken on this issue, so there was a need for clarity” … [Read more...]

Submitted by philip on Fri, 06/13/2014 - 12:08 Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, gives a report to messengers at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting during the last session of the two-day meeting. He said his seminary has a passion for reaching the lost and is experiencing unprecedented blessing. Southwestern's online program is growing, its students and faculty are involved in personal evangelism, and its financial standing is firm with recent gifts totaling $13 million. By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer BALTIMORE, Md. – Paige Patterson addressed SBC messengers during the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary report regarding his decision to admit a Muslim student to the school’s PhD program in archaeology. Last year, a Palestinian Muslim who participated in the seminary’s archaeological dig in Israel was admitted to the program, an exception to the school’s admission policy. News about the decision by Patterson, who serves as president of the seminary, surfaced last month in news outlets, resulting in criticism by some in Southern Baptist life. Two messengers asked Patterson about the decision, which violated the policy of letting … [Read more...]